2 Arrested In Robbery Of 90-Year-Old Woman
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis police say they've arrested two women who they believe robbed a 90-year-old woman as she left her neighborhood grocery store.
After WCCO aired pictures of the suspects captured by surveillance cameras, viewers who recognized the women contacted CrimeStoppers.
"It was a horrible robbery," Minneapolis police inspector Mike Sullivan said. "A 90-year-old female victim, and we felt very sad about it."
Marguerite Cornish's weekly visit to her favorite store in the Nokomis East neighborhood was violently disrupted as she walked home on Aug. 5.
She told WCCO all about it last Thursday.
"The older lady came out and she says, 'I have a gun under my blouse,'" Cornish said. "She said, 'I want your money.' I was stunned. I couldn't say a word. I just stood there."
Police say within hours of seeing news reports about the crime, people who recognized the suspects got on the phone.
"We had several call-ins on CrimeStoppers, and they knew exactly who they were and had a vehicle description, and we knew where they lived," Sullivan said.
Police say 28-year-old Morgan Bierman and 43-year old Tracy Williams are now in jail, facing robbery charges.
"It says that CrimeStoppers works, and we couldn't be more pleased." Sullivan said.
Cornish said she was never angry about the robbery, just frightened by it.
"I harbor no ill feelings," she said. "They didn't sin against me; they sinned against God. He'll deal with the ladies. I've put it in his hands."
She hopes that while in custody, the women will have some time to reflect on what they've done.
"I've had situations in my life -- you know you don't find God in the noontime of happiness; sometimes he reaches you through sorrow," she said.
Cornish said she only had about $30 in cash in her purse and no credit cards.
But she hopes police are able to find her purse because it held her prescription eyeglasses.
Police say they are looking at other robberies to determine if the same women were involved.
